by Stella Goeschl, EAN scholarship recipient
I had the chance to join the first cohort of the Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Brain Health, offered by the University of Bern. As soon as I saw the description of this course offering, I was interested in applying. It combined in a very unique way my passions for both neurology and public health, which has been rare to find so far in educational programmes.
With its year-long duration, I was sure that this CAS would not remain on the surface level but really delve deep into the different aspects of brain health and provide me with a solid understanding thereof from many angles. Having now completed it, I can say that my expectations were more than met.
I had the pleasure of receiving the EAN Scholarship for the CAS, which greatly facilitated my participation as a recent medical graduate. I started the programme in late 2024 amongst a cohort of motivated individuals with a diverse set of backgrounds.
The programme was structured intuitively across four modules, starting from basic neurological functions and foundations of brain health, continuing into neurological disease, then risk factors and prevention, and ending in brain health implementation.
Despite certain areas being familiar to me from my prior studies, I found each lecture enriching, as they were held by experts in their fields on every occasion. Assignments built upon the knowledge gained in each module and encouraged practical application of concepts. Personally, I most enjoyed the last module, where brain health was discussed in the context of real-life healthcare settings and public health strategies, and even touched on aspects of policy and economics.
I can again only reiterate how valuable it was to deepen my knowledge on these aspects with the specific focus on brain health, which felt highly relevant to my initial motivation of joining the CAS. Starting this CAS at the very end of my medical studies, it was during the duration of this programme that I solidified my decision to apply for further postgraduate study in this area.
This past autumn, I started my Master’s of Public Health and am finding my learnings from the CAS highly applicable, enabling me to bring a brain health lens to my studies and work. I am continuously motivated to engage in public health initiatives on matters of brain health and neurological disease and look forward to working on research and advocacy on these topics throughout my career.
If you would like to read more about the CAS in Brain Health and would like to apply for the next round, please visit: CAS Brain Health – ean.org
